There is rarely a dull moment when these two come together and here was another lively contest. Neither side had much more than a theoretical chance of progression in EDF Cup, a fact reflected in the teams they had selected, so the game lacked the bite to make it truly satisfying.

Nevertheless, Shane Geraghty played a full part, and that will have pleased one of his mentors, the watching England backs coach Brian Smith. Satisfaction all round, then, for the Exiles, who refused to panic when it had looked as if Harlequins might run away with it. Mind you, it is easier not to panic when you do not really care.

Quins had started as sure winners of this battle of who could care less, carrying on pretty much where their seniors had left off the week before against 'Irish' opposition. When your stock is rising, it is rising, just as surely as the reverse seems to hold true these days.

There may not have been quite as many in the crowd here as there were for last week's sold-out romp against Ulster in the Heineken Cup, but the ground was fuller than it might have been for a game between what was more or less two second XVs. Harlequins' side bore less of a resemblance to its show team than London Irish's, but the try-scoring touch was with this lot from the off. They had notched two tries within the first quarter of an hour, and the joyous support settled down to enjoy what looked like another rout.

The Quins pack were giving their visitors a torrid time at the set piece, which was unseemly given that the Exiles' front row contained an All Black and a Springbok. Regardless, Harlequins had them on the rack at an attacking scrum, and from the subsequent penalty the Quins line-out did a number on their opponents, allowing George Robson to drive over for the opener.

Having showed off their set-piece prowess, Quins next ran in the kind of try more normally associated with them, when Charlie Amesbury was away in the 13th minute after a move that had started in their own 22. That made it 12-0 and everyone was buying the Quins.

The game lost its way, though, as so often with these second-team cup games. Irish turned down as many as four shots at goal, just to underline the training-ground nature of the contest. Off the third, Irish secured an attacking scrum, which turned in such a way that Richard Thorpe was able to burst from the base for the line and a 12-5 scoreline at the break.

Quins' stock reached its peak shortly after the break, when Neil McMillan was driven over from - glory be - a rolling maul. Admittedly the maul needed to go only five metres, but it was the first try from one we have seen since the ELVs.

That, though, was when Irish's set-piece pulled itself together and the Exiles thrived. Peter Hewat skinned the unfortunate Mark Lambert for one try, the excellent Adam Thompstone barged over for another and James Bailey streaked over for a third in nine minutes to earn Irish a very sudden 22-17 lead.

Now they were taking it seriously and Geraghty extended that lead with a penalty. He missed a sitter with five to go, but Hewat rounded off the exercise with a gift as Quins chanced their arm.